Harlow Fights Economic Downturn By Amy Activ At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

Despite all the doom and gloom surrounding the UK economy, the town of Harlow is bucking the trend.

The latest Government figures on unemployment show that Harlow’s rate of unemployment has remained below the national average and is now lower than it was in 2006.

The number of Job Seekers Allowance claimants in the town is also down compared with two years ago. In addition, retail footfall showed a slight increase against a fall of 8.5% nationally in addition to a reduction in the number of shops available to let.

The situation has been helped enormously by such projects as the £50M Harlow Gateway Partnership, which was formed in 2003 to find new land for housing and relocate and upgrade the sporting facilities in the town.

The plans were drawn up to include...

- Nearly 600 new homes
- £3M Football Stadium
- £1M Athletics track
- £25M Community Leisure Centre

The aim was not just to achieve the above, but also build stronger links between education, sport and health, whilst creating new jobs and training opportunities.

In February, the project came runner-up in Local Government Chronicle and Health Service Journal Awards 2009, being highly commended in the 'Creating a Lasting Legacy' category. For more information visit the Harlow Gateway Project website.

Another plus for Harlow is an ongoing major investment programme to improve the local transport system.

Firstly, an upgrading of the A414 between Southern Way and J7 of the M11 to a dual carriageway, plus new facilities for buses, cyclists and pedestrians along First Avenue.

Secondly, the Department of Transport’s intention to invest in the West Anglia Train Mainline, which will include Harlow Town and Harlow Mill stations. This will lead to an improvement in journey times and a more frequent service for rail users.

There was one disappointment though. It was decided that there was no evidence to suggest that any improvements on the M11 between J6-J8 would be required before 2021, including J7A north of Harlow giving better access to the town.

What about Harlow’s small & medium sized Businesses?

Harlow is home to hundreds of small and medium sized businesses (SMB’s), which along with the rest of the country are suffering from the so called, credit crunch. Apart from standard practices of cutting costs, laying off staff and so on, what can SMB’s do to fight back? Well, here’s one very simple idea…

FACT: According to a recent survey, over 50% of SMB’s do not have a website.

You may find that hard to believe when we are bombarded everyday with ‘www’ this and ‘www’ that, but it absolutely true. Unbelievably over half of the UK’s businesses still do not have a website for a variety of reasons from “I don’t need one”, to “I don’t believe the internet will ever catch on” and “I can’t afford it”. However, the real question you have to ask yourself is ……. “Can You Afford Not To”?

A website can…

- save you time
- save you money
- make you money

Just by having a website people can see what your business is all about, gives you the ability to receive enquiries and sales, save on advertising costs and most importantly gives you and your business credibility.

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